The XL Maine Coon and the slinky Siamese are both iconic breeds in the cat world, much loved by human families all over the world. They are very different in looks but share some lovable attributes that may intensify in the adorable mix. So, what should you expect in a Maine Coon and Siamese mix?
Maine Coons are a larger, hardier breed than their more delicate Siamese counterparts and generally enjoy better health. Both breeds are vocal, intelligent, and affectionate, although Siamese take human attachment to the next level. A mix of two pure breeds will likely produce an energetic and curious cat.
Genetics is a complex process that adds to the mystery of what a Maine Coon and Siamese mix will deliver in terms of kittens. Although one can expect a likely outcome, the genetic mix can always surprise you, especially with mixed-breed Maine Coons and mixed Breed Siamese. Let’s explore the differences between Maine Coon vs. Siamese and what delightful kittens these too exceptional breeds may produce!
Contents
- Maine Coon vs. Siamese Physical Differences
- Personality Differences: Maine Coon vs. Siamese
- Maine Coon vs. Siamese Breed Traits: Scientific Study Results
- Maine Coon vs. Siamese: Care
- Maine Coon vs. Siamese: Health
- Siamese Markings Explained
- Maine Coon Markings Explained
- Can a Maine Coon Have Siamese Markings?
- The Maine Coon Siamese Mix: 4 Things To Expect in a Kitten
- Closing Thoughts
Maine Coon vs. Siamese Physical Differences
| Characteristic | Maine Coon | Siamese |
| Size | Average 10-16 inches tall,19”-32” long | Average 8-10 inches tall,11.5-14 inches long |
| Weight | 9-18 lbs and above | 5-12 lbs |
| Coat color | Various colors are available, but most commonly, tabby with brown markings display red or silver. They can also be solid colors: blue, red, blue, white, and black. There are also particolored, smoke, calico, and tortoiseshell variations. | Siamese have light coats with darker-colored extremities such as the face, tail, and lower legs. This color pattern is called colorpoint and typically comes in chocolate, lilac, fawn cinnamon red cream, and blue points. These colors may have further variations such as smoke, silver, lynx points, and tortie |
| Eye color | The eyes are wide set and typically have green/gold coloration. TICA accepts blue or odd-eye colors in the white and parti colored coats | A stunning tanzanite blue, green, gold, or odd-eyed, depending on the coat color |
| Body shape | Large rectangular with a long flowing tail. Muscular and solid-boned. | Long and fine-boned body with firm musculature. The hind legs are longer than the front, with small oval feet. A long, slender tail that appears as a “whippy |
| Face and Head | A broad head with wide-set almond-shaped eyes. A distinct square-shaped muzzle and large ears set wide at the base with furnishings (lynx tips) | Wedge-shaped triangular head shape with slanted almond-shaped eyes. Ears are large and slightly rounded. The tip of their noses line up with their chin. |
| Life expectancy | 12.5+Years | 10+Years |
Maine Coon Build
The Maine Coon is the oldest native American long-haired cat breed, with a distinctive rugged build and impressive size. Although several myths surround their origin (such as Viking cats or Marie Antoinette’s lost kitties), the breed’s exact origin is not certain. However, most experts agree that they are descendants of cats brought by Puritan settlers in the 1600s-1700s.
As a working cat, the breed had to survive harsh weather conditions in their native Maine. Thus, it is broad-chested, with solid bones and a muscular body with a beautiful bushy tail. It also sports XL paws with long, feathery tufts of hair between the toes.
Siamese Build
The Siamese breed is so ancient that their origins are shrouded in history, but their genetics link them to the East. A picture in a manuscript from Siam written between the 14th and 18th centuries shows a cat with what appears to be a Siamese colorpoint.
They are medium-sized, graceful, and lithe with long tapering lines. Although they are muscular, they do not have the same bulk as a Maine Coon and are generally narrow and lithe.
Personality Differences: Maine Coon vs. Siamese
Need for Attention
The Maine Coon has earned their nickname, gentle giant, through their sweet and loving nature. Although they are typically devoted to their humans, they are not clingy like the Siamese breed, who need love and attention 24/7.
Siamese tend to fare better with stay-at-home humans and can suffer when left alone. Siamese cats are prone to the psychological problem of separation anxiety.
Chattiness
Maine Coon are chatty and are famous for their long conversations with their humans consisting of chirps and chirrups. Although they are verbal kitties, they are nothing compared to the chatty Siamese, who always have something to say to their humans. My Stix, a Siamese cross, will even chat to himself if no one is interested in his tall tales!
Independence
Although Maine Coons are loving companions, they will not seek human contact with the vigor of the attention-hungry Siamese. Siamese love cuddles and warm laps and often enjoy some under-duvet central heating. Maine Coon are involved and interested in their human going on but are also quite happy to spend some me-time alone.
Family Orientation
Salla Mikkola and her colleagues conducted an in-depth study on over 4300 cats of 26 different breeds to ascertain their breed traits.
They found what Siamese cat lovers already know: the Siamese cat is the number one socialite of all the cats in the study. Our Maine didn’t fare as well, coming 9th last in the social stakes!
Siamese cats‘ socialization extends to children if they are familiar with them and gently handled. Main Coon’s steady and gentle natures also make them an excellent choice for a family home—where children are respectful to their feline family members.
Maine Coon vs. Siamese Breed Traits: Scientific Study Results
Milla Salonen and her cohorts conducted an exhaustive study of over 5700 cats in 40 breeds, grouped into 19 breed/breed groups. Through extensive research conducted through a feline health and behavior questionnaire, they attempted to determine actual breed characteristics instead of commonly perceived personality traits.
The results show the fundamental differences and similarities between the regal Siamese and our rugged Maine Coons.
| Traits (Out of 19 breed and breed groups) | Maine Coon | Siamese |
| Aggression towards family members | No 6 highest ranking out of 19 breeds and breed groups | 3rd from last in the likelihood of showing aggression toward family members |
| Aggression to strangers | 7th position from last of all the breeds and breed groups | 4th from last in the tendency to show aggression toward strangers |
| Cat-on-cat aggression | 3rd lowest likelihood for aggression to other cats | About average out of all the cat breeds |
| Tendency to shyness with strange people | Just above average tendency to shyness | Average shyness toward strangers |
| Likelihood of less contact with their humans | 6th least likely towards decreased contact | Third least likely to be aloof of all the cat breeds |
| Behavioral Issues | Maine Coon | Siamese |
| Wool sucking | 4th most likely to wool suck over the 19 breeds | 6th most likely to wool suck |
| Excessive grooming | 6th least likely to over-groom | Second most likely to groom excessively of all the tested breeds |
| Owner reported general behavioral issues | Average tendency for owner-reported behavioral issues | Number one place for this feisty and unique breed! |
| Temperament | Maine Coon | Siamese |
| A tendency toward high activity levels | Rated no 12 of 19 breeds for high activity levels | No 7 out of 19 breeds |
| Shyness toward strange/novel objects | Rated 8/19 in shyness | Rated 7/19 for shyness |
Maine Coon vs. Siamese: Care
A Siamese cat has glossy, short fur that is easy to maintain with little need for a rigorous grooming routine. Maine Coons, on the other hand, are double-coated with fur that can easily tangle and form mats. Maine Coon requires a regular grooming routine to keep their long fur in check, while the Siamese only need a quick run-through with a cat comb every other week.
Maine Coon vs. Siamese: Health
The Siamese cat is an ancient breed that cat lovers have coveted for centuries. Unfortunately, long years of inbreeding have made the Siamese susceptible to genetic illness. According to Swedish insurance data, Siamese cats have a higher mortality rate than other cat breeds, with not even half of the test subjects reaching the age of 12.5 years.
Potential Genetic Diseases in the Siamese Breed
1. Chronic Bronchial Disease (Asthma)
Chronic Bronchial Disease is the Inflammation of the airways, and increased mucus secretion leads to breathing impairment. Dust, dander, and environmental pollutants trigger this condition, and in severe cases, cats may need inhalers and chronic medication for their entire lives.
2. Dental disease
In a Finnish study of 8,000 cats, researchers found that Siamese were the most likely to suffer from dental disease of all the cat breeds studied. Juvenile-onset gingivitis and periodontitis are frequent problems for this breed. Plaque buildup leads to bacterial infections in the gums, eventually damaging the gums, ligaments, and jaw bones.
3. Hereditary Retinal Degeneration
This condition is caused by the genetic degradation of the retina. The retina is the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that converts images to electric signals and then sends them to the brain to create images. The condition starts when the cat is around one year old and progresses to blindness.
4. Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis is a genetic condition in which amyloid, an abnormally folded protein, is deposited into body tissues. This substance disrupts organ function and may lead to liver and kidney disease.
5. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
HCM occurs when a cat’s heart’s walls thicken, particularly in the left ventricle (the heart’s pumping chamber). This thickening then impairs the heart’s relaxation and enlarges the left atrium (the top chamber of the left side of the heart). In extreme cases, this condition may lead to blood clots, heart failure, and sudden death.
Potential Genetic Diseases in the Maine Coon Breed
The Maine Coon was a working breed, and humans only began to interfere in their genetics far more recently than the Siamese. Hence, they are a relatively healthy breed. However, like all purebred cats, they also have susceptibilities to breed-specific illnesses and behaviors, such as the following:
1. Hip Dysplasia
Feline Hip Dysplasia is where the femoral head (ball socket of the thigh bone) does not align with the hip socket (acetabulum). Over time, the grinding motion of the ill-fitting joint leads to arthritis, joint pain, and eventually severely impaired mobility.
2. Dental Disease
In the same Finnish study of 8000 cats discussed above, the Maine Coons exhibited a high rate of dental disease at 29% of the cats studied. See dental disease in the Siamese health issues above.
3. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
See the above section on Siamese health conditions.
4. Polycystic Kidney Disease
PKD is an inherited condition where fluid-filled sacs develop in the kidneys, growing more severe over time and eventually leading to kidney failure.
Siamese Markings Explained
The Siamese colorpoint markings, or the Himalayan gene, is a form of semi-albinism that affects the color gene tyrosinase (TYR). TYR produces an enzyme crucial for melanin production, the pigment responsible for the beautiful variety of cat coats and eye coloration.
This temperature-sensitive mutation blocks the underlying pigment from production except in the cooler parts of your cat’s body (lower than 33 °C), such as the face, ears, tail, and lower legs.
In fact, the Siamese is actually a solid color, but the TYR mutation inactivates melanin production in the warmer parts of the cat’s body. This mutation is not limited to the feline kingdom but also appears in mice and rabbits.
Maine Coon Markings Explained
The Maine Coon is predominantly tabby, although they have an almost endless variety of coat patterning. The tabby gene lies in the dominant agouti gene (A) that creates bands of color in a single hair by switching pigmentation on and off to make all those beautiful stripes, swirls, and butterflies found in tabby Maine Coons.
Can a Maine Coon Have Siamese Markings?
How Genetics Work in Cross Breeds
Like humans, kittens receive two copies of a gene from each parent, one from the mother cat and one from the father. These genes can either be dominant or recessive. If your mixed-breed kitty receives a dominant and recessive gene, the dominant gene trait, such as color and coat patterns, will show. If the kitten gets two recessive genes, the recessive trait will show.
Purebred Maine Coon Siamese Mix
A purebred Maine Coon will not likely create colorpoint kittens even if their mating partner is a purebred Siamese. Because the Himalayan gene is autosomal recessive, a kitten needs two pairs of the recessive allele to display the classic colored points. That is why TICA omits colorpoints in their gazillions of color combinations inherent to Maine Coons.
Mixed Breed Maine Coon and Siamese Mix
If your Maine Coon is a mixed breed or of unknown heritage, such as a rescue cat, they may produce kittens with colorpoint markings and blue eyes. However, this can only happen if they have a Siamese in their ancestry or an ancestor with the same genetic mutation as the Himalayan gene.
If your Maine Coon mix has a recessive allele, it won’t show up until they mate with a cat that also has the same recessive mutation, such as a Siamese. Their kittens would then have a good chance of being born with a mix of both Maine Coon and Siamese physical attributes and colorpoint coloration.
Likewise, your Maine Coon would need to have an ancestor with the Himalayan gene for them to have blue eyes as this gene related to the colorpoint semi-albinism is recessive.
The recessive nature of the gene means both the Maine Coon and the Siamese cat must have the recessive gene to create kittens with blue eyes.
The Maine Coon Siamese Mix: 4 Things To Expect in a Kitten
1. Most Likely Short-Haired
The Maine Coons distinctive shaggy coat and long coat lie in mutation 3 of the fibroblast growth factor 5 or FGF5, which encodes a recessive gene for the MC’s glorious coats.
Thus, the kittens of a pedigree Siamese will unlikely have long hair because the short hair gene is dominant to the long hair gene. However, if the Siamese has a recessive long-hair gene, the kittens may have a 50-50 chance of being long-haired.
2. Your Maine Coon/Siamese Mix Will Have a Lot To Say!
Both Siamese and the Maine Coons are intelligent and vocal cats, with Siamese topping the list of cat chatterboxes. Your MC/Siamese mix will be highly talkative, either with the characteristic Siamese meow or the chirrups, trills, and chirps of the trusty Maine Coon.
3. Your Mixed-Breed Will Be Intelligent and Highly Trainable
The MC and Siamese breeds are known for their keen intelligence and curious natures. If you have a mixed breed, expect a highly trainable kitty who often gets up to mischief—including opening the microwave door if a chicken is inside (true story).
4. Your Mix Will Be a Constant Companion
Although the Maine Coon does not seek attention as much as the Siamese, they also tend to follow their owners about to supervise their goings on. A combination of the velcro Siamese and the loving Maine Coon will guarantee you an engaged and affectionate feline best friend.
Just have a look at this gorgeous Lynx point Siamese/Maine Coon crossbreed:
Closing Thoughts
These two adorable breeds may produce unexpected colorations or designs, but one thing is sure: their kittens will have XL personalities. These curious kitties’ intelligence and affectionate nature will delight you no matter who the cuties take after!
